ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Jan. 28, 2023) -- The Pirates opened Great Lakes Conference Tournament play with a wire-to-wire rout over Valley Forge Saturday. Rocky River outshot, out-rebounded, and out-ball-handled the Patriots by significant margins in a 60-23 triumph on home hardwood.

In a battle featuring River as the West Division No. 2 seed and Valley Forge as the No. 5 from the East, the Pirates clocked their largest margin of victory of the season. A big 22-8 second quarter highlighted an assault that saw the visitors get off to a solid start in the first period and then get held to five field goals the rest of the way. The Double-R had eight steals in that second stanza and would finish the game with 17.

For the contest, the Patriots were forced into 30 turnovers, twice the number charged against River's account. Rocky River outshot Valley Forge 39% to 25% ; the Buccaneers' accuracy mark was its best in a single game since Jan. 4. And the Roundball Raiders out-rebounded the Patriots 35-24.

Individually, Rocky River (14-4) got a career-high 20 points on dialed-in distance shooting from guard Annika Mocho. The senior captain went 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and also led the team with eight steals. Junior forward Ava Patti added 16 point on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Mackenzie Russell (6P), Natalie Swallow (5P, four assists), and Emmy Convery (5P) also had solid afternoons for Rocky River which won for the sixth straight time after losing at Elyria Catholic Jan. 6.

Saturday's performance was part of a trend for the sharp-shooting-of-late Mocho. She was shooting just 23.5% (8-of-34) on 3-point attempts through Dec. 27. She's found twine at a robust 42.9% clip (15-of-35) since.

The Pirates will host East No. 6 Holy Name in a round-2 game Monday (6:30 p.m.).


by Skip Snow

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